Ja Rule is finally a free man. The Queens rapper was released from prison this morning (May 7).

A fellow Queens rapper, who happens to be familiar with the penal system, broke the news via Twitter. "Just spoke to @Ruleyork everybody tell him welcome home!!!," tweeted N.O.R.E. aka P.A.P.I. early this morning.

Ja's official fan site, RuleYork, confirmed the news, "The Rule York team is very proud and excited to announce that Ja Rule has been released from prison! Let's give him a warm welcome. Ja Rule's Twitter handle is @ruleyork. Follow him and send him some welcoming tweets. We will be giving you more details of his release shortly. Stay tuned!"

According to TMZ, the man born Jeffrey Atkins was released from Ray Brook Federal Prison in New York this morning, where he was picked up by his wife around 10 a.m. He will be on house arrest until July 28.

Ja Rule served two years for a gun charge and 28 months for tax evasion in New Jersey, which ran concurrently. The "Holla Holla" rapper was released from an upstate prison in February after completing his time for the gun charge but was immediately taken into federal custody for the tax dodging charges.

Ironically, as news of Ja's release arrives, yesterday Lauryn Hill was sentenced to three months in prison for tax evasion.

In early 2013, while incarcerated, Ja Rule released an album titled Pain Is Love 2.